-THREEwords

As soon as we pulled up infront of Charlies house, there was silence. I decided to brake it fast. "So Rosalie wants to have kids, huh?" "Yeah Rosalie's been wanting to have kids for a long time. I guess she just finally decided to speak her mind today." "So you've known for a while then?" i asked "I know it's hard to believe that Rosalie would care for something other than her mirror image" he laughed to himself, "but Rosalie has a caring nature that runs strongly inside of her, something that she doesn't let others so easily see. Only i would know." I thought of that night sitting in the dark with Rosalie, how she told me her whole life story and how she came to be. That night she exposed tome a side of her that i didnt know she had. She told me how she didnt like the idea of me giving away my life so easily, and that she would of given anything to have what I had. She wanted me to have what she didn't, a choice. I respected her for that. "Can i ask you a question?" "sure" "What was it that Emmett said to you..., i mean... before when you were reading his thoughts?" "He didnt like having to say no to her like that, It killed him to see her in that state, especially when she started crying.He loves her very much, and would do anything for her." "Then why didn't he just give in, why does he want to wait?" Edward looked down, a hard expression pulling across his face. "Because he is scared." "Scared..,Scared of what?" "Bella, you see,vampires cannot reproduce. It's not possible. The only way it couldeverbe possible to have children is tochange a human child, and many of our kind see that as ruthless and selfish.It'snot only selfish, butputs them in a dangerous situation,and others around them as well. You see when new born vampires are created, their senses are high, and very much new. They're inexperienced naturally, and don't possess the skills to control thier urges." "...and that's when it becomes dangerous to society?" i guessed " and a threat to our kind." he added "he would hate to have to deal with the Vultori." My thoughts slowly drifted else where as I looked down at the shimmering gems. “You know I’m going to have to tell him, soon. Maybe I should just tell him tonight.” I said as my eyes looked up in his direction. Edward noticed my worried expression. He leaned in close to my face and traced his finger lightly across my temple, placing a piece of my hair behind my shoulder. “I wont let you do this alone, I’ll be with you the whole time.” I smiled. “Thanks, something tells me I could use all the support I can get.” Taking a deep breath, I let out a great sigh. “Ok, here it goes.” Before I could even open the car door Edward was already at my side, helping me out. He shut the door behind me. In a long stride he took my hand in his, as we walked to face our doom. “Bells! You’re back.” Charlie welcomed, when he heard the front door close. Charlie’s gleeful expression vanished as soon as Edward came into view. “Hey Dad.” Edward kept a stark pose beside me, his hand never leaving my backside. Charlie just stood there analyzing Edwards every movement. “Italian, right?” I interrupted, quickly moving towards the fridge. I was trying to act very relaxed and nonchalant , but my hand gave it away as I bumped a whole tray of eggs to the kitchen floor. I quickly reacted, bending down in a swift motion with a dishtowel, when I realized my ring was being exposed. Edward took notice and quickly took the dishtowel from my hands, continuing my work. “Here, I got this” he reassured. I felt the blood surface to my cheeks as I darted to the sink to wash my hands. That was too close. “You ok, Bells? You seem…off today.?” “I’m fine Dad, just a lot on my mind I guess. Nothing big.” Charlie continued to smile, but he didn’t look convinced. Charlie has always been highly observant. “So, you kids ready to start school?” Edward glanced at me, as if asking my permission to speak. “Yeah we are ready. Ready as ever.” I answered , throwing Charlie a convincing smile. Charlie turned to Edward, almost as if he were gritting his teeth. “So Where will you be attending, Edward?” “Oh, I decided on Dartmouth Sir.” “So have I.” I quickly added in.” Charlie’s head spun so quickly in my direction, I’m surprised it didn’t spin off. “I thought you said you were going to continue looking?” “I know. I did, and I decided on Dartmouth.” “I see.” Charlie said, his mouth in a straight line. His eyes then moved to my sweatshirt. It was clear, you could easily read it in his expression now. He understood what was going on. Charlie stood up from the table. “I’ll be right back, I think I left something in the car.” He slowly turned towards the doorway, his eyes steady on both of us until he was gone. I took a seat at the table, covering my face with my hands. “He knows.” I said in a low voice. “No he doesn’t Bella, I don’t think he does. I think he’s just curious.” Edward took the seat across from me. I sighed and glided my hand with the engagement ring to the center of the table. Edward moved his towards mine and started playing with the ring, turning it back and forth between his fingers. He looked up at me reassuringly and smiled. “Don’t worry I’m here.” I knew that, I knew I wasn’t alone in this, Edward made sure I knew. I jumped when I saw Charlie standing by the doorway of the kitchen. Edward didn’t turn around he just stood still, his eyes focused on my startled expression. “Dad” I laughed half heartedly, “You scared me.” “Bella….what is that?” his eyes dropped to the ring resting delicately on my finger. He automatically in response took a seat at the table. My guess was just incase he couldn’t stand. “Dad, I need to tell you something.” I hope he takes this well. “Dad, I’m engaged. To Edward. Edward and I are getting married.” There was silence for a short moment. “Bella……no. Bella you can’t.” “Daddy I love him!” I shouted. The words seemed to echo off the walls. I realized then that I stepped out of bounds. I hit a nerve. “No Bella, you only think you do. You’re young and naïve.” he said, his tone steady. “No Dad, I am not naïve, and I’m not a little girl anymore! I’m eighteen, I can make my own decisions!” “Not when you’re living under my roof!” he shouted, with a crack in his voice. I was so determined to make Charlie understand, that I forgot Edward was there with me. Charlie sat there his arms crossed against his chest with agitated eyes. “Why are you doing this Bella? Don’t do this.” he persisted. “What will René think?” I stood up and held a rigid pose. Edward was silent, knowing that this wasn’t his fight. “Fine, when should I pack my things? Now or later?” “What are you talking about Bella?” “I guess I’m moving out.” I immediately felt bad for playing the guilt card. I didn’t want to hurt Charlie. “Bella you can’t leave, stop talking nonsense.” I let out a hopeless sigh and looked away. Charlie gave up and stamped out of the room and out through the front door. Edward got up and swiftly followed behind him. I quickly darted towards the living room window to watch and hear what was being said. “Excuse me, Mr. Swan… I mean Chief Swan, do you think I could talk to you for a minute?” I heard Edward ask, politely. I saw Charlie give him a sour expression, but his eyes looked intrigued. They moved farther out and decided to take a walk while they talked. This angered me because I couldn’t hear what words were being exchanged. It was killing me. What was Edward doing? Was he really asking Charlie permission to marry me? I paced back and forth on the balls of my feet, until my legs gave out in submission. I flopped on the couch.

The summer passed faster than I thought, and I was sure that my life was surely going to change. Much faster than I thought possible. I hadn’t heard from Jacob all summer, and that was what was truly getting to me. Every time I would think about Jacob’s sad eyes watching me walk away through his empty doorway, I would feel a warm tear role over my left cheek; it was then when I realized it was going to be much more difficult to bear than I thought. I tore myself away from the thought of Jacob and glanced down at the delicate band of shimmering gems, resting on my finger. This is where my thoughts should be, I thought, This is my life now. Charlie left to go fishing early this morning and I knew that he wouldn’t be back untilmuch later in the day. On my way to the bathroom to wash up, my computer caught my eye. It’s been a while since I’ve written to René, knowing her she probably had a million messages waiting for me to open t in my email. I anxiously opened my email, and to no surprise I underestimated the amount. I opened the most recent one and read it slowly. BELLA SWAN! WHY HAVN’T YOU BEEN ANSWERING MY EMAILS! Your father hasn’t been making you neglect me has he? Please answer back, Bella. There is just so much that I wish to speak to you about, and so many questions that need to be answered! I miss you sweetheart, love you. -René When I finished reading the last sentence I felt a great spread of guilt pass through my body. Has it really been that long since I’ve talked to René? Have I really been that sidetracked to not write her throughout half the summer? I quickly summed up in a couple of paragraphs of what has been going on lately and tried to make up the most believable excuses to why I haven’t written to her in while. It was much more difficult than I thought, including how I couldn’t just straight out tell her that I was too busy being hunted by dangerous vampires; or the simple fact of how I was now engaged. I put some hugs and kisses on the end to make up for the long rude neglecting, but somehow I don’t think It did. I clicked “send” and quickly ran to jump in the shower. I knew that the faster I moved, the sooner I could see his face. The beautiful face that I saw every time when I closed my eyes, the reason for my existence. I swiftly put on the Dartmouth sweatshirt that Edward got me over the summer and threw on a pair of jeans. I couldn’t wait to live my life with him, to go to school with him, I loved him with all my heart. I ran down the stairs, grabbed the keys to my truck and was on my way down the porch, when I bumped into Charlie. “Hey Bells!” he said with extra enthusiasm. I decided to go along with the whole enthusiastic tone. “ Hey Dad! You’re… home early” “Yeah, I wasn’t getting too many bites so I figured I’d head back early.” “Oh…well that’s a shame. Alright…well I’m off to see Edward!” I called back quickly over my shoulder. “Alright, what time will you be home?” Charlie eagerly asked. I turned my head to meet his curious expression. I knew it wouldn’t of been long before he asked me that. “Um…don’t worry dad I wont be long, promise.” I flashed him a promising smile and jumped into the drivers seat. I had a feeling Charlie was worried that he would have to cook dinner tonight. So before I took off I rolled down the window and yelled “ What are you up for tonight, Italian?” He looked up with a grateful smile, “Sounds great to me.” “ Ok, later Dad!” “Later Bells!” I drove as fast as I could, that is as fast as my truck would allow; which really meant 50 miles per hour. When I pulled into the long drive way and threw my car into a sudden stop, I felt my door yank open and a cold hand pull me upward in an embrace. “Hello” he said. His lips found mine as I heard him kick the truck’s door shut behind me. “Hello to you too” I said breathless, when our lips finally parted. “ I missed you as soon as I left” he said, his eyes genuine and warm. I giggled, “Well It was good you left because Charlie came up to pay me a surprising visit right after you swiftly climbed out my window.” Edward flashed me a grin, “I kind of like having to be sleuth, it makes me want you even more.” Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. It was hard to kiss him with a straight face, I was always smiling. Unlocking my grip around his neck he took my hand with the engagement ring and held it gently in his. A warm, soft expression pulled across his face as his eyes glanced down at my finger. “It looks great doesn’t it?” I said with a beaming smile. He was still staring down at the ring, smiling without out a word. “It looks beautiful on you, Bella. Even better than I imagined it to be.” “You are so beautiful” he said lifting his head, his eyes staring sincerely into mine. His eyes were the richest gold that I’ve ever seen them to be. Wide, open, free, and so sincere. With an automatic response I released my hand he held, along with my other around his neck and cupped his face with both. I pulled my face close to his, our foreheads touching; he closed his eyes to my touch. “ I love you so much” I whispered against his face. “What I feel for you Bella, goes far beyond what love knows” he said, without a sign of hesitation. I knew then, that this was where I was supposed to be; at Edwards side. I would never forget that. “Bella!” I heard coming from my left. It was Alice, showing no sign of repression when it came to her excitement. “Thanks again for giving me the reigns on this one, I am so ready to give you the wedding of a lifetime!” “Thanks…Alice I’m sure you’ll do great, you always do” I added trying to sound convincing. Edward met my expression and smiled. “Alice does have good taste when it comes to décor, you got to admit.” He added trying to lighten the mood. I smiled at his attempt, trying to knock out the memories of Alice’s attempt at my graduation party; how the interior of the Cullen’s house was formed into a night club. I cringed at the idea. “Something tells me this is going to involve a lot of purple and white ribbon?” Edward said glancing at the steps, holding a stark pose. I laughed , “Apparently so.” The whole steps were taken up with boxes of white and purple ribbon along with fake ornate flowers. Edward saw through my unconvincing smile and pulled me in tight by my waist. “Nah” I said, “ this is what I want, no doubt, promise.” “ I just can’t wait for it to be official” I said showing off my ring, that glistened through the near by trees. Edward pulled me close into his chest, raising his lips to my ear “I just can’t wait for you to be mine.” We followed Alice into the house, where she quickly flew up the stairs; my guess was to continue drawing out more interior ideas. Emmet and Rosalie were sitting around the kitchen table having, what it looked like a deep conversation, and Jasper was in the garage waxing his Jeep. I started my way towards Rosalie and Emmett, when suddenly Edwards hand pulled me lightly to the side, leaning over me. I looked at him with confused eyes. “What’s wrong?” I asked. He stared at me for a moment with deep concern, concentrating hard. “Look Bella, I know you’ve always said that this is what you want, that this is your choice, but I don’t want you to feel that you are being rushed in any way. Especially not because of me.” I took In every word he spoke, re-playing them in my head, slowly. I’d seen that look of concern in his eyes many times before, but this time was different. I stepped in closer to him. “Edward, I know I want this. I want this more than anything.” I whispered. “I want you, and only you.” He smiled, as his thoughts attached themselves to my last sentence. “I’m going to miss that,” he said. “ Miss what?” “Miss that warm red tint in your cheeks” It took me a second to understand where he was coming from, but then I understood right away. He was talking about when I finally become one of them, a blood thirsty machine. I cringed at the idea, and looked away trying to hide my expression. We were suddenly distracted by loud voices coming from the other room. It was Rosalie and Emmett. Edward and I both exchanged looks, as we both made our way to the dining room.Emmett and Rosalie both exchanged looks of repugnance, and Rosalie looked enraged. “I just don’t think right now is a good time is all, I mean not now especially.” “And why not?! Huh? Emmet you said that you agreed, that someday you would like to start and have a family!” Rosalie shouted. Tears slowly escaped and trickled down the sides of her face. My eyes flashed quickly back to Emmet, who moved towards Rosalie in a hurry to comfort her. Emmet, embracing Rosalie, looked over her shoulder to meet our gaze. I glanced quickly at Edward, his eyes were locked with Emmett’s; I had a guess that Edward was reading his thoughts. “Shouldn’t we leave them alone?” I whispered, but Edward didn’t respond, just stood there concentrating. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Emmett’s voice broke the silence. “Look I know this is what you truly want, but I just don’t think now is the appropriate time. I promise though we will eventually start one.” Rosalie lifted her wet face from Emmetts shoulder. “When I was driving today I hit a long red light and came across a mother walking her child in a carriage. I saw the look in her eyes, the way she constantly checked to see if her child was still asleep, still wrapped in its blanket, still secure, safe.” she whimpered. “I want that.” “I know you do.” Emmett whispered, “I know.” Edward then took my hand and led me out of the room.